Google is dead. Long live Google AI. What this means for your corporate website.

How did this come about?

For years, Google was simply the search engine: enter a keyword, click on one of the blue links, done. But this phase is practically over. Google has gradually transformed search into an answer engine – powered by artificial intelligence. The decisive change: Google no longer just tries to find pages that contain a word, but to understand the user’s intention. To do this, the search now uses large language models, semantic analysis and more context. The result is the familiar AI answer blocks (often called “AI Overviews”), which are displayed directly above all other hits – and often provide the user with everything they need.

This breaks down the old logic of “being in first place = lots of traffic”. The classic, purely link-based Google search is basically dead – not Google itself, but the old model. Long live Google AI.

Current developments: Rollout since October 2025

In October 2025, Google activated AI search in large parts of the world. What was previously tested in some markets has now been rolled out widely. This means that the AI-supported display of results is no longer the exception, but the standard.

Technically, the following happens: The search query is broken down into several sub-queries, the AI collects suitable sources, consolidates them and delivers a consolidated answer. This answer is at the top – and only below it are the classic organic hits and ads. Signals such as E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust) are weighted more heavily than simple keywords.

Another effect: significantly more zero-click searches are created. Users get the solution directly and no longer have to go to your website. This is precisely the break with the past.

What does this mean for companies and websites?

In short: anyone who has not really maintained, expanded or sharpened the content of their website for years will lose out in this new Google world. Not because Google is “evil”, but because the AI only takes relevant, up-to-date and clearly structured content as a source.

• Decline in traffic: Even if your keyword ranking has hardly fallen, fewer visits arrive because the click already “ends” at Google.
• More competition in the answer box: You’re no longer just competing with other websites, but with the AI’s answer.
• Higher demands on content: Thin, generic texts are used less frequently by AI. Clear utility value, expertise and topicality are in demand.

If you want to continue to be found via Google, you have to prepare your content in such a way that it is even eligible for an AI response. This is a different requirement than classic SEO.

• Update content: Revise outdated pages, adjust year dates, update examples, add new questions from practice.
• Make added value visible: Name the author, name the source, explain the practice – anything that shows competence helps the AI to classify the page as trustworthy.
• Improve structure: Headings, lists, FAQs, clear sections. AI understands structured content better.
• Use structured data / schema: Where possible, mark up content technically. This makes it clear what it is about.
• Reduce dependence on Google: Newsletters, social, direct access and strengthening the brand – so that not every loss of visibility on Google hurts immediately.

Outlook

The statement “Google is dead” does not mean that Google is disappearing – it means that the former search model is over. It is being replaced by Google AI as the answer platform. For all those who run websites, this means moving away from a one-off SEO setup towards continuous
content maintenance, expertise signal and technical cleanliness.

If you haven’t touched your website in years, you should act now – before the AI bypasses your content and classifies others as a better source.